The rider’s body should be erect but pliable, neither obeying too much the action of the horse, nor yet resisting it.
If the horse do not exert himself sufficiently, or hang on the bit, he should be animated, by a play on the snaffle bridle; should he break into a trot, he must be checked, but the bearing upon the reins, must neither be so firm nor continued, as to make him stop.
The trot, is a more animated pace. To make the horse advance from the walk into a trot, the horse must, with the leg and whip, be urged into greater animation, at the same time retained, by an increased bearing upon the reins. The lady must be careful, to retain the lightness in hand, without counteracting the impulse necessary to the movement, when the animal will proceed with that safety, which is natural to a horse balanced and light in hand.
When the horse trots, the lady must preserve her balance, steadiness and pliancy, as in the walk; the rise in the trot, is to be acquired by practice; when the horse in his action raises the rider from her seat, she should advance her body, and rest a considerable portion of her weight, upon her right knee; by means of which and the bearing of her left foot upon the stirrup, she may return to her former position, without being jerked; but she must carefully time her movements to the horse’s action, and the closer she maintains her seat, consistently with her own comfort the better.
The Canter, and Gallop, are paces of still higher animation; the canter is a repetition of bounds, during which the forehand raises first, and higher than the hind quarters; it is the most elegant and agreeable of all the paces, when properly performed by horse and rider; its perfection consists in its union and animation, rather than its speed.
A horse may canter false, disunited with the fore, or disunited with the hind legs, for instance, if a horse is cantering in a circle to the right, leads with his near fore leg, followed by the near hind leg, he is cantering false. If leading with the near fore leg, the off hind, remains further back than the near one, he is said to be disunited; if leading with the proper fore leg, the off hind remains further back than the left, the pace must be rectified. The lady should learn to ascertain by the motion of the horse, if his canter be false or true, and she should acquire the means, of making him rectify his action.
A horse must not be allowed to canter with either leg leading at his own will, but must be made to do so, at the will of the rider. When cantering with the off fore-leg leading, the pace is more agreeable to the lady, consequently a lady’s horse should be taught to start off into a canter, with his right leg leading. There are many opinions, as to what are the proper indications to be given to the horse, to induce him to lead with either particular leg, but considering that a horse when cantering in a circle to the right, must lead with the off-fore, and that the indications in that case are, a double bearing upon the right rein, and an increased pressure with the leg, or whip on the left side of the horse, these appear to be the most rational.
To start the horse into a canter with the right or off-fore leg leading. The lady having her horse properly animated, light in hand, and well balanced, should, as in the walk, draw the horse’s attention, by an increased bearing upon both reins, but upon the right rein the stronger; and at the same time, by a strong pressure of the leg, or heel, and by the application of the whip to the horse’s left shoulder, communicate to him, an impulse to carry him forward. If the horse hesitates to canter, she should pass the whip behind her waist, and strike the horse on his near-hind-quarter; the whip must not be used on the right side of the horse, because muscular action being retractile, doing so, would cause him to draw back his right leg, rather than to advance it before the left.
To start the horse into a canter, with the left leg leading, the extra bearing must be made upon the left rein, and the horse should be touched with the whip on the right shoulder or flank. It is an excellent lesson to cause the horse to change the leading leg, when in the canter, so that upon any disturbance of pace, or change of direction, the action of the one, may be as familiar, and as easy to the rider, as the other. The lady should sit well down in the centre of the saddle, with her body perfectly upright, and square to the front, without stiffness or constraint, she must continue the bearings upon the horse’s mouth, throughout the entire pace, and if the horse flags in his movements, or does not respond to the action of the bridle-hand, then the whip must be instantly applied. In turning a corner, or cantering in a curve, the lady must incline her body in that direction, to preserve her balance, and she must be careful that the bridle arm, does not acquire the bad habit, of moving from the side of the body, and throwing the elbow outwards.
The gallop, is a further increase of pace upon the full canter, but no lady of taste ever gallops on the road, into this pace, the lady’s horse is never urged, nor permitted to break, excepting in the field. The action being the same as that of the canter, excepting being more extended and quicker, nothing further need be said in this place.